MIFUNE

MIFUNE is a well-made Danish drama with interesting characters, fine acting, and a moral center that keeps it from becoming totally corrupt. Kresten must face the rural family history he has hidden, while his relationship with his brother Rud gradually becomes more loving and accepting. Liva, the housekeeper, also confronts a sordid past and seeks reunion with her own brother.

That merit comes with a serious cost. The film contains plenty of foul language and some sexual content, and the source review says this material is strong enough to warrant adult-level caution. Its characters lie, struggle with sexual morality, and make painful choices.

If you are an adult prepared to weigh those elements against the film’s family themes and thoughtful character work, MIFUNE is worth the trip. For children and young teens, choose something else.

After his father dies, young Dane Kresten returns to the dilapidated farm he left behind. He has kept his rural family history from his new wife, including his mentally handicapped brother, Rud.

Kresten tries to manage the funeral, care for Rud, and preserve his new life in the city. He advertises for a housekeeper, and Liva’s arrival—with personal problems of her own—makes his carefully controlled plans increasingly complicated.

Three stars mean MIFUNE is a solid, well-made drama with worthwhile character work, though its content limits its audience. The characters are interesting, and the acting is fine, especially in the complicated relationships among Kresten, Rud, Liva, and Kresten’s wife.

The relationship between the brothers is endearing but tense. The story also gives its characters meaningful moral movement: Kresten learns to accept his rural roots and love Rud, while Liva overcomes a sordid past and reunites with her brother. Those strengths make the film more than its objectionable material, but they do not erase that material.

MIFUNE comes from a Danish filmmaking movement that eschews Hollywood techniques, including music that is not inherent to the real-life sets in its movies. The movement recalls the new kinds of European movies that reached American shores in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The film presents a romantic worldview, but it also includes moral elements. It exalts family responsibility, acceptance of one’s roots, love between brothers, and the possibility of overcoming a destructive past. Kresten’s journey moves away from shame and concealment toward accepting his family, while Liva finds a way back toward her own brother.

At the same time, the film does not offer a consistently biblical moral framework. Lying, sexual wrongdoing, cruelty, and other immoral behavior are part of the story. Some consequences eventually lead the characters toward better lives, but the film’s romantic outlook can blur the difference between forgiveness, desire, and moral wisdom.

The film’s deepest longing is for reconciliation within broken families. Scripture calls believers to carry one another’s burdens: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

MIFUNE offers strong character work and meaningful family themes, but its foul language and sexual content are not suitable for children or young teens. Adults willing to engage its difficult material may find the journey worthwhile. WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.